Our Position "Baptist and Guns"

"Fear the government that fears an armed population!"

The Truth About Firearms by Pastor Greg WilsonI compiled the following statistics from an article that appeared in the New American magazine. Please take a few moments to compare the facts to the lies and innuendoes that the liberals are presenting on the issue of the Second Amendment. -- Pastor Greg Wilson

The liberal lie: The murder rate with guns has increased astronomically in recent years.

The TRUTH: In 1974, handguns were involved in 11,125 murders, in 1988 that figure had fallen to 8,275. In 1966 murder with guns accounted for 64.8 percent of the total murders, in 1985 that figure was 58.7 percent. The fact is gun ownership has been on the increase (more than doubling since 1968), while murder with guns has been on the decrease.

The liberal lie: A handgun is much more likely to be used by a criminal in the conduct of a crime than by a citizen in legitimate self-defense.

The TRUTH: In an average year, law-abiding citizens use handguns 645,000 times to defend themselves from criminal action, compared to an average of 581,000 misuses of handguns by criminals.

The liberal lie: Our police will protect the citizen from criminal activity.

The TRUTH: Civilians lawfully kill approximately three times more assailants and robbers than do the police. Indeed, a survey of felons in state prisons across the country found that 57 percent said they were more worried about confronting an armed citizen than running into the police. A Justice Department study estimates that 83 percent of children now aged 12 will be victims of some kind of violent felony during their lifetime, and our police forces will be unable to prevent this. Citizens must take the responsibility for their own protection.

The liberal lie: Those who arm themselves and resist a criminal assault are more likely to be seriously injured or killed than those who passively submit to a criminal’s demands.

The TRUTH: Those who passively submit to a criminal’s demands are twice as likely to be injured (gratuitously), as those who use a firearm to resist criminal assault.

The liberal lie: Women who resist criminal assault with a firearm will have their own weapons used against them.

The TRUTH: The records show no example of such an occurrence. Quoting from the article: “A police academy instructor simultaneously trained a male police academy class and a group of civilian women (most of whom had never held a revolver, much less fired one). The instructor ‘found that after one hour on the range and two hours of classroom instruction the women consistently outshot police cadets who had received eight times as much formal instruction and practice.’ Other studies have shown that the average woman is actually superior to the average man in many physical and mental traits related to shooting skills.”

Know the facts, and defend your Constitutional Right to Keep and to Bear Arms. If the liberals have their way, they will take yet another precious freedom from us.